Originally Posted by OzExpat
So what happens when the circling MDA for your category is governed by an obstacle at the extremity of the protection area, or even on the opposite side of the aerodrome, if there's no circling restrictions? I don't know how Pans Ops is interpreted in other parts of the world but, here, I can descend - provided that I have visual reference - to an altitude that gives me the standard obstacle clearance height for my category.
It certainly helps if you know the aerodrome and the obstacles in the vicinity. However, if you're visual and have good visual reference from the cockpit (obviously some aircraft aren't as good as others in that regard), and can identify a height of 300, 400, 500 etc feet above an obstacle, you can often descend a bit sooner in complete safety, if necessary.
Of course, as I said at the outset, it's a matter of how Pans Ops is interpreted in your part of the world.
I assume your part of the world = PNG?
The rule, as written, in Australia is that at night you must maintain the MDA until intercepting your normal descent profile for the circuit. During the day you may descend sooner, BUT, you must maintain the
maximum practical obstacle clearance. What that means is that you may descend below the MDA as necessary to stay visual, but you must maintain the minimum obstacle clearance (obviously) and you mustn't descend any more than you have to to stay clear of cloud.